Fishless cycling problem...

C

Cichlid Guy

AC Members
Aug 30, 2002
59
0
0
VA
Okay,

I started fishless cycling for my 125g tank some 20 days ago.Like most report on here, I got my amonia to zero and my final stage(I thought) was to get the nitrites to zero.Well, 3 days ago my amonia and nitrites registered zero and my nitrates where at a nice elevated level.The levels remained that way for 2 days and I thought I was done.

Now tonight I have checked my levels and I have 1.0ppm Amonia and nitrites have spiked to .25 ppm.Nitrates are still elevated, but not as high as they once were.

My questions are..

1. I stopped adding pure amonia once my Amonia and Nitrites went to zero.Was I supposed to continue adding it?
2. I did not do the 50% water change after I thought the tank was cycled.Could that have caused my amonia and nitrite spike?I was waiting to do the water change just before my fish arrive next week.
3.Should I do a water change?
4. Should I start adding more amonia?
5. Once your tank is "cycled", do you need to add the fish immediately?

Thanks!
 
Add ammonia everyday until you are planning on adding fish. Otherwise the bacteria will starve. Right before you get your fish do a huge water change to get your nitrates down to an acceptable level.
 
Without food the bacteria will die as was mentioned. That die off could have lead to a small spike that you saw.
 
I am doing a 1st time fishless cycle on a 40 gal and I was told that i should keep my ammonia at 5ppm until I see my nitrite spike then i should add a small amount until I see my nitrate spike. The cycle is complete when i can add ammonia and it is gone in 8-16 hours.

once the cycle is complete ammonia should be added every other day until fish are added.

The above is my understanding of how the fishless cycle works and I would appreciate any additional info that anyone has to add, if someone could tell me the ppm that that i need to keep of ammonia after the nitrite spike and the ppm I should add after the nitrate spike to maintain the cycle that would be great

thanks
 
A spike is when you usually get a constant level and suddenly it raises. In this case it was 0ppm ammonia and raised to 1ppm in a short amount of time. And nitrites went from 0 to .25ppm. So thats a spike.
 
It takes a few days for the nitrites to start rising. As that happens your ammonia will go down. Then after a couple weeks your nitrites will start going up. Your ammonia is usually gone at this point. Then as your nitrates start increasing, your nitrites will fall. When your ammonia and nitrites are 0 and you get nitrates, your cycle is done. Do a 50% water change and add fish.

Add ammonia daily, the same amount each time. It's supposes to be mimicking fish waste. They go all the ime, not every few days.


Kim
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom